1. Yukon Government 3rd Annual Industry Conference
Quality of Documents in Construction –
Identifying Impacts and Solutions
Whitehorse, YT – February 22, 2017
By Gil Brulotte, Chair of Canadian Construction Association

2. WHAT IS THE PROBLEM? As the Owner Requested it
As the Architect Conceived it
As the Structural Engineer Designed it
As the General Contractor Bid it
And After all the Change Orders
All the Owner Really
Wanted ….

3. MORE ABOUT THE WORKSHOPS
Prince George St. John’s
Vancouver Charlottetown
Ottawa Fredericton
Saskatoon Calgary
Cambridge Whitehorse
Halifax

4. ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS
Who is ensuring Quality Control & Coordination?
Sharing of Risks
How to measure completeness?
How much time is involved?

5. Managing expectations Contractors’ role in design details?
SHARING OF RISKS
Communication
Collaboration
Managing expectations
Contractors’ role in design details?

6. HOW TO MEASURE COMPLETENESS, GOOD VS. BAD?
Prior to Bid Call:
independent peer review, checklist
After Bid Call:
RFI, addenda, large variance in bid prices
During Construction:
Delay in permit process, changes, supplemental instructions, claims

7. HOW MUCH TIME IS REQUIRED?
Project Delivery Methods
Project Specific – nature & complexity
Other Constraints – funding approval, labour shortage, knowledge transfer…
How much time is required?

8. Insufficient Fee/Design Contingency Owners’ (Unnecessary) Pressure
SURVEY QUESTIONS
Insufficient Fee/Design Contingency
Owners’ (Unnecessary) Pressure
Lack of Final Coordination/Checking
Lack of Coordination Between Architects & Engineers
Insufficient Design Time
“Design and Documentation Quality Survey – Comparison of Designers’ and Contractors Perspectives” (CSIRO May 2000) by Paul A. Tilley and Stephen L. McFallan

9. Inexperienced Contractors Requiring More Details
SURVEY QUESTIONS
Inexperienced Contractors Requiring More Details
Shortage of Skilled & Qualified People
Shortage of Experienced Spec Writers
Perception that New Technology will Reduce Design Time
Fragmentation of Consulting Services
Intentional Assignment of Design Responsibility to Contractors
New Trends of BIM&IPD Increase Collaboration

10. 413 Completed copies of the questionnaire/survey: Architects – 71
SURVEY RESULTS
413 Completed copies of the questionnaire/survey:
Architects – 71
Consulting Engineers – 57
Contractors – 138
Owners – 84
Others (or not identified) – 63

13. SURVEY RESULTS
3. Lack of Final Coordination/Checking Frequency(3.7)/Impact(4.3)
5. Insufficient Design Time Frequency(3.6)/Impact(4.1)
4. Lack of Coordination Between A&E Frequency(3.3)/Impact(4.1)
2. Owners’ (Unnecessary) Pressure Frequency(3.4)/Impact(3.9)
1. Insufficient Fee/Design Contingency Frequency(3.4)/Impact(3.4)
7. Shortage of Skilled & Qualified People
9. Perception that New Technology will Reduce Design Time Impact
10. Fragmentation of Consulting Services
8. Shortage of Experienced Specs Writers Frequency
6. Inexperienced Contractors Requiring More Details
11. Intentional Assignment of Design Responsibility to Contractors
12. New Trends of BIM&IPD Increase Collaboration

15. SOLUTIONS: COORDINATION
Lack of Final Coordination, Checking & Proofreading / Lack of Coordination Between Architects & Engineers
More internal review
Commit to internal quality control process
Internal mentorship program
Better coordination between A&E
Independent peer review

16. SOLUTIONS: INSUFFICIENT TIME FOR DESIGN
Establish standard/best practice for design time
Better communicate Owner/Consultant contractual obligations and expectations

17. SOLUTIONS: OWNERS’ EXPECTATION
Owners Place Unnecessary Pressure on Consultants
Better managing Owners’ expectation
Enhancing communication and collaboration
Owners be active in providing timely feedback and instructions during the design process
Education for Owners and procurement authorities

18. SOLUTIONS: INSUFFICIENT FEE/DESIGN CONTINGENCY
Use Quality Based Selection (QBS) in selecting Consultants
Establish standard/best practice for design fee / design contingency
Align design fee with the required level of services

19. ENGAGING OWNERS AND CONSULTANTS
Full report is available from
Meetings/Presentations after releasing the report:
Association of Consulting Engineering Companies of Canada (ACEC)
Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC)
Construction Specifications Canada (CSC)
Federal Government Departments (Annual Government-CCA meeting in April 2016)

20. JOINT GOVERNMENT-INDUSTRY WORKING GROUP
PSPC, DND, DCC, ACEC, RAIC, CSC, and CCA
To recommend action plan on the top issues identified in the CCA report:
Lack of final coordination, checking and proofreading
Lack of coordination between architects and engineers
Insufficient time for design / Owners placing unnecessary pressure on consultants (e.g. unrealistically high expectation, inability to make timely decisions)
Insufficient fee / design contingency

21. JOINT GOVERNMENT-INDUSTRY WORKING GROUP RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Lack of final coordination, checking and proofreading:
Define milestone achievements for each project
Explicitly apply the necessary accountabilities to the appropriate parties
Put greater weight in the RFP evaluation on efforts placed on coordination activities
Ensure coordination utilizing owner/consultant sign-off procedures
Constructability review in the RFP

22. JOINT GOVERNMENT-INDUSTRY WORKING GROUP RECOMMENDATIONS
2. Lack of coordination between architects and engineers:
Explicitly define the QA/QC coordination deliverable
Sign-off by each design team member
Checklist approach to assess QA/QC coordination
Employ appropriate technology

23. JOINT GOVERNMENT-INDUSTRY WORKING GROUP RECOMMENDATIONS
3/4. Insufficient time for design / Owners placing unnecessary pressure on consultants:
Establish a detailed schedule for design delivery
Streamline contract approval process following the concept design stage
When encountering tight schedules, pursue other procurement methods (e.g. DB, CM)
Regular meetings with Consultant throughout the project

24. JOINT GOVERNMENT-INDUSTRY WORKING GROUP RECOMMENDATIONS
5. Insufficient fee / design contingency:
Select Consultants using QBS
Incorporate past performance ratings into the evaluation criteria
Ensure a sufficient contingency for design
Apply more discriminatory rated criteria in the evaluation

25. What are the recommendations/best practices for private projects?
NEXT STEPS FOR CCA
What are the recommendations/best practices for private projects?
How to engage Owners and Consultants to review their business practices?
Prepare checklist for Contractors to recognize complete/incomplete design documents?
Contractor’s Roles & Contribution

26. Thank you!
Ideas and Questions?